TOKYO: A Japanese city on Thursday approved plans for the country's first “baby hatch,” where parents can drop off unwanted infants anonymously, defying opposition from the conservative premier.

Advocates say the baby hatch, if it becomes a trend, could help boost the birth rate in Japan, where abortion is widely accepted and adoption outside of extended families is rare. A Roman Catholic hospital in Kumamoto, a provincial city in southern Japan, in December sought official approval of the system modelled on the “Babyklappe” in use in Germany.

“We have approved the plan by the hospital,” Mayor Seishi Koyama told reporters. “There is no legal basis to say that a baby hatch violates any relevant laws. “We will make our utmost efforts to make sure it is not simple just to leave babies at the baby hatch,” Koyama said, adding that the city would consult with the government on its operation.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has campaigned for Japan to return to “family values,” has publicly opposed the plan, although his government found no legal grounds to block it.

Abe argued that the baby hatch would discourage parental responsibility. “I personally don't think it's permissible for a father or mother to abandon a baby anonymously. The government will not allow this to become the general norm,” Abe told reporters after the decision.—AFP